♪ Baroque-n-Chords ♪

White House

2017-05-20T05:16:15Z

Time Magazine cover this week

Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer sings "I feel pretty!"

2017-05-13T00:25:07Z

Spicy goes on the road!

2017-05-12T20:32:16Z

IVANKA

2017-05-05T18:37:11Z

New York Times: "How Syria and Russia Spun a Chemical Strike" Interesting video article

2017-04-28T01:48:33Z

https://www.nytimes.com/video/world/middleeast/100000005063944/syria-chemical-attack-russia.html?emc=edit_ta_20170427&nl=top-stories&nlid=61515110&ref=cta

"A New York Times investigation shows how Syria and its main partner, Russia, have distorted the facts surrounding the chemical weapons attack on Khan Sheikhoun"

Sort of timely, given the Syrian president is complaining about "fake news" (he apparently watches Donald Trump).

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/05/world/middleeast/russia-account-syria-chemical-attack.html
"Evidence Contradicts Russia’s Account of the Syria Chemical Attack"
"The Russian government has sharply contested accounts by international leaders and witnesses that a deadly chemical attack in northern Syria last week was carried out by Syrian government forces. Here’s what the available evidence, including a declassified four-page American intelligence report, tells us about the reliability of the Russian account."

Russia bans picture of Vladimir Putin in drag

2017-04-06T21:31:49Z

From the New York Times:
"President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has gone to great lengths to cultivate an image of authority and masculinity.Photos showing him bare-chested and riding a horse have become an online meme. Other widely publicized pictures show him in scuba diving gear, carrying a rifle with a scope or taking down an opponent in martial arts.

So when a Russian named Alexander V. Tsvetkov posted photos and comments last year depicting Mr. Putin quite differently on VKontakte, the country’s largest social network, the authorities took notice. The Central District Court of Tver ruled that a number of the images — including one depicting the Russian leader wearing lipstick, eye shadow and fake eyelashes — were “extremist.” Last month, the Justice Ministry took it a step further and updated its federal list of extremist materials. Offenders face a fine of up to 3,000 rubles or 15 days of administrative detention.

Among the banned materials? Image No. 4072, which Russian officials described as a poster resembling Mr. Putin “with makeup on his face — his eyelashes and lips are painted, which, as envisioned by the author/authors of the poster, should hint to an alleged nonstandard sexual orientation of the Russian president.” The poster of Mr. Putin in drag — reminiscent to some of Andy Warhol’s image of Marilyn Monroe — has been referred to widely on social media and by news outlets as a “gay clown,” with many noting this description is itself a stereotype."

Thanks to yes_justice

Livejournal

2017-04-04T14:04:03Z

LiveJournal represented social media without borders.

Friendly mod note, please to be warned:

"As of a few days [before 30 December 2016], the IP addresses for blogging service LiveJournal have moved to 81.19.74.*, a block that lookup services locate in Moscow, Russia. Now users -- especially those who do not trust the Russian government -- are leaving the platform and advising others to leave." - "LiveJournal represents social media without borders."

If you're coming from LiveJournal to Dreamwidth: Importing

Chechen Authorities Arresting and Killing Gay Men, Russian Paper Says

Sad news.

Yanked from Politicalcartoons.

Alexei Navalny opposition video

2017-03-04T18:51:36Z

Remarkable video of property by Russian opposition. Putin is called the richest person in the world, and he had a gift for you!

Alexei Navalny opposition video. Remarkable stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrwlk7_GF9g

John Oliver / Trump and Russia

2017-02-20T23:06:32Z

Nice piece on Russia. John Oliver takes on a bit of the "Oh, but both sides are so evil!" with the "Yes, but" crowd but overall brings home the point that Trump really has no idea what he's doing and who he is dealing with.

Milo Yiannopoulos on Bill Maher. Washington Post write up...

2017-02-20T06:25:16Z

Good write up on Milo Yiannopoulos appearance with Bill Maher Friday night.

Paul

2017-02-09T03:55:30Z

telemann @ 2017-02-02T21:32:00

2017-02-03T02:32:22Z

New York Times Alert: "President Trump is embracing key aspects of Barack Obama's strategy, refusing to lift sanctions on Russia and imposing new ones on Iran. President Trump, after promising a radical break with the foreign policy of Barack Obama, is embracing key pillars of the former administration’s strategy, including warning Israel to curb construction of settlements, demanding that Russia withdraw from Crimea and threatening Iran with sanctions for ballistic missile tests."

telemann @ 2017-01-30T12:04:00

2017-01-30T17:04:12Z

Trump administration is defying the court order issued yesterday.
He learned a thing or two from Putin, eh?

Federal judge rules on Trumps immigration order...

2017-01-29T03:29:15Z

Federal jujdge halted Trumps ban on Muslims.

New York Times alert: "A federal judge stayed part of President Trump's immigration order, barring refugees stopped at U.S. airports from being sent back. A federal judge blocked part of President Trump’s executive order on immigration on Saturday evening, ordering that refugees and others trapped at airports across the United States should not be sent back to their home countries. But the judge stopped short of letting them into the country or issuing a broader ruling on the constitutionality of Mr. Trump’s actions.
Lawyers who sued the government to block the White House order said the decision, which came after an emergency hearing in a New York City courtroom, could affect an estimated 100 to 200 people who were detained upon arrival at American airports in the wake of the order that Mr. Trump signed on Friday afternoon, a week into his presidency."

telemann @ 2017-01-28T17:46:00

2017-01-28T22:46:26Z

Hahaha. Wikipedia page on Invertebrates was modified (thanks to HardBlue for this)

Hahahaha!

Beef

2017-01-26T20:59:22Z

Mmmm. Legs!

Mary Tyler Moore

2017-01-26T17:43:13Z

I was very sad when I hear that Mary Tyler Moore passed away yesterday. Oprah Winfrey cried once when Mary Tyler Moore appeared unexpectedly on her show, and did so again yesterday. Her greatest role was for me, in Ordinary People. A movie about a family dealing with the death of a child, and all the drama that goes with it. The program "Mary Tyler Moore" was a popular one (of a woman going into the work place and working in a man's world.....the nay sayers would shake there heads at that! Who cares....) but the show was a delight and I tuned in every week

telemann @ 2017-01-09T14:19:00

2017-01-09T19:19:47Z

New York Times New Alert: Donald Trump will name his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to a senior White House role. The move could test anti-nepotism laws.

telemann @ 2017-01-09T14:18:00

2017-01-09T19:18:01Z

Wow, it's been cold. But it made me think of how much colder some people have it. And it made me think of Alaska. I knew a friend who lived in Fairbanks, while attending the U. of Alaska.. He was renting a cabin out in the Goldstream Valley area. This was in 1989 when the temps were setting record lows for the area (at one point I think, -70 below) and he was telling me some stories about the living conditions, and what what you had to do to deal with it. One was about you couldn't drive on your car tires, after overnight, without going slow, to roll your car tires out, because in temps that cold, the air pressure in the tires does odd things, like tires weren't round anymore, they lost air pressure and flattened a little bit. .He also had to have an oil/motor heater overnight, to prevent the oil in the engine from getting like sludge in the cold. But he thought living in the extreme cold was worth it to see the Northern lights. My brother was stationed at Elmendorf AFB ane mentioned that a flight was cancelled, due the extreme cold.

telemann @ 2017-01-07T14:55:00

2017-01-07T19:55:26Z

Cool illustrations for the Hobbit.
O Gnomo (The #Hobbit) by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Livraria Civilizaçâo, 1962.
Illustrations by António Quadros.
Hat tip for this C.M. Harrington.

others at https://twitter.com/PulpLibrarian/status/817772962271072256

Debbie Reynolds has died.

2016-12-29T02:27:56Z

NEW YORK TIMES ALERT:

Debbie Reynolds has died at 84, a day after the death of her daughter, Carrie Fisher. Her best-known role was in "Singin' in the Rain." Debbie Reynolds, the wholesome movie ingénue in 1950s films like “Singin’ in the Rain,” “Tammy and the Bachelor” and “The Tender Trap” and one-third of mid-20th-century Hollywood’s most scandalous romantic triangle, died Wednesday, a day after the death of her daughter, the actress Carrie Fisher, according to The Associated Press. She was 84.
Her death was confirmed by her son, Todd Fisher, The A.P. said. Ms. Reynolds was taken to a Los Angeles hospital on Wednesday afternoon amid reports that she had possibly had a stroke. According to TMZ, she had been at the home of her son discussing funeral plans for Ms. Fisher, who died on Tuesday after having a heart attack during a flight to Los Angeles last Friday.'

Horrible news :(

Russian ambassador shot in Turkey

2016-12-19T19:01:27Z

I was watching CNN this morning, when a story broke about a Russian Ambassador being shot, he later died. More information here. The shooter yelled "Do not forget Aleppo!" as he shot the ambassador. Media wasn't sure what the impact will be on Turkish-Russian relations, or how will how will it will play out.

Gwen Ifill

2016-11-14T20:05:19Z

Journalist Gwen Ifill passed away earlier today. NBC News broke the story with their law correspondent Pete Williams, who broke down while reporting. They had been professional and personal friends. Ifill an award-winning television journalist for NBC and PBS, former reporter for The New York Times and author who moderated vice-presidential debates in 2004 and 2008.

Ms. Ifill was the moderator and managing editor of Washington Week and the co-anchor and co-managing editor, with Judy Woodruff, of PBS NewsHour, the culmination of a career that began in 1981 at The Baltimore Evening Sun. Both she and Ms. Woodruff moderated a Democratic debate between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in February.

Ms. Ifill later reported for The Washington Post and The Times, covering Congress, presidential campaigns and national political conventions.
She is also the author of “The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama,” which was published on inauguration day in 2009. Source, New York Times

Dave Chappelle Addresses Donald Trump’s Victory on SNL Monologue

2016-11-14T00:02:42Z

Language warning. Really interesting from 8:51 onward, but I'm pretty skeptical.

The Crown

2016-11-06T23:52:17Z

The Crown, is a new mini series about Queen Elizabeth II, and was released last week on Netflix. This is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! I saw the great review in the New York Times last week, but all the reviews are extremely glowing. Well written and acted, and a poignant look at a family that at times hated being in such a public light. Beautifully filmed. Really, well worth your time.